Are Indoor Electric Grills Healthy?

When the winter season comes, many people tend to shy away from summer foods and specifically barbecue foods. It’s pretty unsafe to bring in your outdoor gas or charcoal grills to the house for cooking. Therefore the ultimate solution is an indoor electric grill.  

Are indoor electric grills healthy? It’s one of the frequently asked questions by most users who want to acquire an electric grill. The answer is yes. Indoor electric grilling is a safer and healthier way of cooking compared to other alternatives, i.e., charcoal and gas. However, you have to do it right and use the appropriate ingredients. 

According to a 2020 market study by Research &Market, health concerns due to smoke and grilling activities influenced an increased demand for electrical grills worldwide. The same research indicates that the North American region accounted for the most significant market share of electric griddles. 

Ways you can Benefit Your Health through Electric Grilling

1. By minimizing the amount of oil used in your food. Excess oils are in foods that usually contain unhealthy fats and high calories highly contribute to excess weight gain, bloating, obesity, heart disease, among other lifestyle diseases. 
2. Unlike a charcoal grill, an electric grill produces less carbon and soot while cooking. Such soot and hydrocarbons not only pollute the air but also profoundly worsen lung and heart problems. 
3. Research suggests that foods and specifically meat cooked over the flames are likely to lead to the formation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The PAHs are linked to the formation of cancer. Therefore, electric grilling does not entail open flames that cause fat to drip and smoke. Additionally, you can regulate an electric grill's heat levels when cooking to reduce PAHs and HAAs formation. 

What you Grill Matters? 

Like any other cooking method, the type of food you prepare matters and will positively or negatively affect your health. Therefore, it’s always good to grill healthy foods. Check out the below list and tips related to healthy food on an electric grill. 

1. More vegetables on the grill are the way. There are many healthy vegetable recipes you can always try on an indoor electric grill. Among the easy grilled vegetables include Zucchini, mushrooms, asparagus, bell pepper, carrots, broccoli, tomatoes, eggplants, onions, lettuce, corn, etc. 
2. Grill more lean meat than red meat. Grilling is one of the lighter cooking methods; therefore, lean cuts with fewer fats are the best option for cooking. They include chicken, turkey, pork chops, lamb, rabbit, and specific parts of a beef (top loin, T-bone steak, tenderloin, flank steak, and porterhouse). Additionally, fish such as tilapia, Mahi, salmon, and tuna have lean meat and rich in Omega-3.  
3. Avoid other foods with excess fats. Such fats highly raise cholesterol levels that are unhealthy to your body. 

Tips for Healthy Cooking with an Indoor Electric Grill

An electric grill makes cooking easier, healthier and increases convenience. As mentioned above, healthy cooking revolves around the type of food and appropriate method of cooking. The below tips will enhance healthy cooking using an indoor electric grill. 

• Embrace the use of Marinades- According to studies, marinated meat contained fewer HCAs than non-marinated meat. Therefore do not shy away from using spices, water, vinegar, and rosemary on your foods while grilling. 
• Flip-up your food often on the grill- a continuous flipping of foods on the grill makes it less likely to get charred, thus reducing the carcinogenic molecules. You can also cut off the charred parts before eating. 
• Keep your grill clean- one of the contributing agents to charring is bits of food on the grill. Thus, frequently scrub off those food particles to limit grease and soot that builds up over time. 
• Always pre-cook meat on the stove. The grill should only be used to sear meat. 
• Regulate heat on your electric grill. You should use low to medium heat levels while grilling foods. Utilize temperature control. You also avoid grilling foods for more extended periods. 
• As highlighted above, grill more vegetables and lean meats.  

Is an Electric Grill Healthier than a Gas or Charcoal Grill? 

A significant number of people who love grilling have regularly debated about a different taste of electrical grilled foods compared to gas and charcoal. However, electrical grills remain viable for anyone who wants to do indoor grilling, probably during the winter period. 

The taste of food grilled on electric grills can differ since there is no smoke and aroma like on a charcoal grill. However, spicing and marinating foods is a suitable way of enhancing flavors on such foods. 

Final Thought 

Indoor electrical grills are healthy. It all depends on what food you grill and how you do it. Additionally, you can still enjoy great flavors on your foods from such grills. 

Lastly, electric grills are the only alternative for indoor grilling applications. They are even more convenient to use, store and transport. Check out Atgrills indoor electric grills and griddles to cook food on a cookware with natural stone coating.

Sources
healthyway.com
premiumgrills.com
researchandmarkets.com